Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-08-01

dHn ubUtOhCH; RAPttooVn w tpO vCiCk /
able men who have shed o halo Of light
upon American jurisprudence. With
one accord they unite IN saying that
this iyrannicai authority cannot he exer
clsed. And az il this were not sufficient,
the congress- of the United States, the
body which mekes enc unmakee judges,
and which created the very office winch
Judge Spencer holds. declines that no
committed outside the presence of the
court. You may escape this law by q
teehDicality, but you cannot escape the
moral obligation of all courts created by
congress to observe it. Az | have SAID,
i speak no word against Judge Spencer
personally. His geniel name has
gained him q deserved popularity. But
l strike against this monstrous assump-
tion of any man to thus summarily de-
eide the fate Of q citizen of this country.
The men who WELD the pen are respon-
sible to judges and to every
body else for the abuse of the great
power entrusted to them. II they call a
minister of the gospel a hypocrite
or o mountebapk he has his legal remedy.
III the minister calls the editor a roe ne
and a blackmailer. the latter can test
the question in the courts. IT the Judge
deDounces Che reporter or editor as q
llibeller and q thief he or they must seek
the remedy of the,law. III the editor or
reporter call the Judge o carpet-bagger
and o tyrant he must seek legal satisfac.
tion in the same fashion. There is not
one law for the strong and another for
the weak IN this country; one law for the
Judge, another for private citizen, The
editor outside of his sanctum. the minis
ter outside of his pulpit, and the Judge
outside OF his court, meet upon the level,
and as the plausible jurist says in the
case l have quoted, "their common arbi.
ter must be 9 jury, &c of their country
men,
Gov. Pierce was made o member of
the committee to CONSIDER this question,
and on Thursday the following repor
wRs submitted.
Yonr committee do not deem il advls-
able to enter upon a detailed examine
ton Of facts in the case OF the Huronite.
The main features OF the trial and the
circumstances leading to the arraign-
ment are quite generally understood,
and a review of these might lead to
points OF difference which could only be
settled by prolonged investigation. Your
committee deem it quite important, how.
ever, that this association shall declare
its nnalterable opposition to the assnmp.
ton that an editor can be punished
~summarily, without indictment and trial
by jury, for words spoken of a case al
ready disposed Of by the courts; and
Ileaying all other questions Of this con-
troversy, such as the justification or
truthfulness of the report published by
the Hnronite, TO be passed upon by in
divldual members OF the association as
they deem proper, the committee sub
nit the following preamble and resolu-
tions as covering the vital points at
issue:
Whereas, 1t is sought to establish the
principle and precedent that publishers
of newspapers mast not oriticise the ac-
ton OF courts, even in cases which have
been Jadicially determined end adiudi.
Gated, under pain of being summarily
brought into court and punished with
out q trial by jury: therefore,
ResolDe6. That this association declare
its sbhorrenoe of this principle, which is
fraught with danger to the liberty of
speech and OF the press, and to that free
discussion of public affairs which consti-
tnts at once the safety and privilege of
American citizens.
IfeS0tgeGs Ina QlSelaimlng oil at
tempts to interfere with the legitimate
prerogatiyes OF the court, and declaring
our desire to yield prompt obedience to
any legal order and aid by every means
in the maintenance Of that just and
proper respect due the Judicial depart
ment OF territory, we protest against any
new Interpretation of Law which deprives
the press Of this territory of those safe
guards enjoyed elsewhere, and which are
30 essential to the righteous fulfllment
of it's mission as the educator of the PEG.
pie and the champion of human rights
N. @. NASH.
GILBERT A. PIERCE.
Ell. M. WILLIAMSON.
After a verbal amendment offered by
Maj. Edwards of Fargo, the question on
the adoption of the resolution was put
to the convention and adopted without
o dissenting vote.